THE LEMON TREE CAPER / LA INTRIGA DEL LIMONERO

Missing fish? Missing lemons? Sounds like a job for "the great Mickey Rangel, Private Detective."

It starts as an ordinary south Texas scorcher. Young Mickey is riding the bus home from school when he hears "the blood-curdlingest, spine-chillingest shriek in the history of Nuevo Peñitas." He recognizes the voice of his neighbor, Senorita Andrade, so ugly the kids call her Bruja (witch). Mickey dutifully waits until the bus reaches his stop, then races to her house, dumping his backpack along the way. He finds her pacing the floor anxiously and wringing her hands. Her goldfish are missing! Mickey notices the lid on the fish tank is open, there's a small puddle of water on the floor and wet paw prints lead to the back porch, where Papuchín the cat wears a very satisfied expression. "Another crime solved by the great Mickey Rangel," but (un)fortunately, only the first. This time it's a moan and not a shriek from Señorita Andrade that signals trouble. Someone has stolen all the lemons from the beautiful tree in her backyard. This case is more complicated, but is there any doubt that Mickey can crack it? Although the first-person narration doesn't always feel true to the young sleuth's age, the drawings sprinkled throughout make the story more inviting for young readers.